“Life will go on” for UK operators after RGD increase, says analyst

The increase in UK remote gaming duty (RGD) from 15% to 21% will be far from catastrophic for operators, according to a consultant at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC.

Matt Kaufman says any tax rise for gambling companies will be met with predictions of disaster from industry representatives.

But the consultant believes though it is “substantial,” the reality of the UK RGD increase lies “somewhere in between” projections made by the industry and regulators.

Kaufman told Gambling Insider: “Whenever the costs associated with taxation or regulatory compliance increase for gambling operators, regardless of where, the industry predicts catastrophe and the regulators predict the practical outcome will be small.

“The hike in the UK RGD is no different, and the reality is likely somewhere in between. Yes, the increase from 15% to 21% is substantial. Yes, profit margins will be impacted. Yes, there are likely some business models that are going to have a tough time adapting.

“However, this could have been worse, and for virtually all traditional operators with healthy businesses, life will go on – and probably long enough to see the next rate hike.”

On Monday, Gambling Insider posted a selection of industry reaction to the news, which you can view here.